So, I’m sure you’re all probably wondering what it is you’re looking at here, and why I chose a shrew of all things to base my final Metal creature off of. While yes it may seem like a weird pick at first, the Northern Short-Tailed Shrew actually has probably the strongest tie to the element out of any animal I’ve used so far, and it all has to do with their teeth. You see, if you look at the teeth of this tiny rodent-like mammal, you’ll notice that they have a distinct dark red coloration to them. No this isn’t dried blood- although anything on the receiving end of these would WISH it was blood- but is actually due to iron deposits located in the teeth that make them sharper and more durable. Put simply, these shrews have teeth that are literally coated in metal, which to me make using them as one of my Metal element creatures the best idea ever. And as for the prehistoric species connection, this one was a lot harder to figure out, but their is an extinct species call Soricolestes that is recognized as one if not the earliest species of shrew in the fossil record. Again, an extremely niche thing to be referencing here, but that’s part of the reason why I like this tiny terror so much. And while the final design I came up with for this creature is kind of simple, I still think it gets across the vibe I was going for, so I consider that to be a success! But now I think I’m going to take next week off from drawing just to give my brain some extra time to recuperate, so until then I hope you guys enjoy this psychotic little oddball and I’ll see you next time to begin work on the next element: Light!